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Wayne Gives Props to The Anonymous' Most "Fantastic" Player & More [INTERVIEW]
The former detective explains how he couldn't get any leverage with the original players.
Anytime the producers of a competition reality show throw a curve ball into play, viewers can be assured the contestants will flounder to some degree in the aftermath. In Episode 4 of USA Network's The Anonymous, three new contestants were introduced into the game — Bismah Ahmed, Wayne Nichols, and Victoria Vesce — and the original players were not pleased. (With the exception of Christopher Shulstad, who was suddenly gifted a new onscreen love interest with Victoria.)
The trio immediately became the interlopers, akin to that kid who moved to a new school mid-year and suddenly had to navigate social politics with a huge disadvantage. As a former career detective specializing in cybercrimes, Wayne Nichols was well aware that The Anonymous — while making for great TV — was going to be tough.
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"I just knew I had to hit the ground running," Wayne told USA Insider about his positive approach to the challenge. "I realized you're getting there a little bit late, so you can't just sit back and be a wall flower. You also have to be aggressive, but not too aggressive. I think getting that balancing act right, striking a perfect chord, is the difficult thing about all games where you introduce players potentially later in the season. I certainly welcomed the challenge. My biggest fear though was going to be that the OG players can get rid of the new players."
Wayne certainly read that possible outcome correctly, as he was the first of the new players voted out by the Anonymous this week. He let us know who he assessed to be the biggest threat, how he fared in the online versus personal game, and whose strategy he respects most.
Was the cyber crimes detective more at home in the chat or the in-person face-off?
Despite only playing The Anonymous for one and a half episodes, Wayne got to use his former cop expertise well in both halves of the game. As a cybercrime specialist, Wayne was well-versed in online personas. And as a detective, he grilled his fellow face-off players as they tried to win the Safe box going into the vote.
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"As much experience as I have working undercover online investigation, I actually felt stronger in the face-to-face game play," Wayne admitted. "Typically when I do undercover cases, I'm talking one-on-one. To be in that group chat, it was very fast paced. Fast and Furious, is what I would call it. You're having to worry about not just what one person will react to what you say, but several other people. That was a dynamic that I did not anticipate. Going in, I thought I would be better in that mode.
"But actually, the face off was my forte," he continued. "That's where I was like, 'OK. I need to make a move.' And that move was out of desperation, admittedly, but I was okay with coming up with something that in my mind would drop a grenade. A truth bomb, if you will, even if it wasn't the truth. I knew in that moment I'm going to be able to do something that hopefully gets people to second guess a little bit," he said of his aggressive grilling about what boxes his peer pulled.
"I was glad that I got to do what I did because I knew that I was in trouble, and so I just didn't want to leave with any regrets," he explained. "When the face-off challenge was presented, as I'm watching it start, I'm like, 'This is your chance. You need to shoot your shot, and it'll either work or it doesn't, but you're gonna not have any regrets.'"
Who Wayne thinks should have gone home
When it came down to who the Anonymous sent packing, Wayne came up empty-handed as Victoria showed immediate loyalty to the ladies in the game (and to her fresh alliance with Christopher) by sending Wayne home.
"I gotta be honest, I was shocked to go home given that it came down to me and Christopher," Wayne said of his fate. "I always saw Christopher as one of the bigger physical threats in the house. So in my mind, I know I'm the new guy here but I cannot be the only person that's feeling that way deep down. So as much as I was nervous when it did come down to me and Christopher, I'm like maybe somebody will actually think logically about this and say, what's better for their game? Wayne is the unknown, admittedly. But Christopher is actually the known physical threat from the get-go. But from a television standpoint, I was there, and even I'm like this is amazing to see everything unfolding."
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While Wayne said he was super impressed by Victoria's quick ascension to Anonymous status, overall he has the most respect for Jack Usher's gameplay, which totally got past him until he started watching the completed episodes from home.
"This is how I keep it 100%, as all the cool kids say, I pride myself on being able to read people for who they really are, or for who they really aren't," Wayne said. "And here I went into the house and immediately recognized Christopher and Xavier as being the strongest players in the house. And it turns out, I was wrong.
"I think Jack is a fantastic player," Wayne added. "My hat's off to him. What's great about Jack is he's so smart and he's so calculated and analyzes everything happening in that chat methodically. So kudos to him because if you were to ask me while I was in the house, who's the biggest threat, it'd be Christopher. Watching the show now with everybody else, I am so impressed by Jack, and I'm definitely rooting for him."
Watch all-new episodes of The Anonymous on Mondays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network.
The Anonymous is available to stream on Peacock.
